


A Tempered Flare

by tonemonotone



Category: Homestuck, MS Paint Adventures
Genre: Crack, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Crack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-01
Updated: 2014-09-01
Packaged: 2018-02-15 18:24:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2238885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tonemonotone/pseuds/tonemonotone
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Karkat, while trying to distance himself from the relationship drama plaguing the rest of his friends, seeks solitude in the depths of the passing dream bubble, but instead finds solace in Porrim’s unlikely support.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Tempered Flare

All he needed was a break.

That’s why Karkat had fled in to the expanse of the dream bubble that collided with their meteor; the sounds of argument and dilapidating relationships having taken their toll on his withered patience, sending him scurrying in to the landscape of their conglomerate past in hopes of finding some peace and quiet. So often he’d been forced to be an active participant in his friends’ surprisingly long-lasting relationships, all of them surviving their own unique set of turmoil and tribulations, that is, all of them except his own.

It was at times like these, times when his ears were ringing and his blood pusher was ready to fire from his chest, that most trolls would go find their moirail, hoping to find peace in the comfort of someone who knew how to deliver tranquility like no one else could. But for Karkat, it was times like these when his own moirail’s abandonment of their relationship weighed the heaviest on his faltering shoulders, reminding the young troll that he was the odd man out among their poorly assembled group of survivors, the only one without a partner to speak of.

Karkat had been alone for most of his life. He’d spent all but the last few sweeps hiding from a society whose vast majority, which included some of his friends, would have killed him if they knew the tint of his blood. Despite that, it was only now, when everyone he cared for had someone else to go to, that he honestly felt lonely. 

This feeling was only exacerbated when their ancestors had crossed paths with the meteor, each of them with millennia of experiences under their belt, all with each other, their tightly sewn cliques hardly willing to break wide enough to let Karkat in. Even Meenah, who had provided a few fleeting moments of relief and companionship, had moved on from the novelty of a new face to spend most of her time with Aranea. 

Feelings of abandonment and inadequacy weighed heavily on Karkat, and it showed in his trudging steps, which came to a grinding halt as he reached the foot of a steep hill on the edge of the dream bubble. Its curvature blocked out the setting sun, outlining it with natural light that punctuated a sole tree planted firmly at the top; a quiet enough place, he thought, to try and pull himself together. The putter of large stomps in soft grass resumed a moment later, with Karkat hauling his tired frame up the slope of the hill, eyes locked on the foliage of the tree as it slowly drew nearer and nearer to him. “Why does this have to be such a fucking trek?!” He grumbled to himself, gritting his teeth as the he scraped toward the top. “I knew it would take some effort to…” he panted tiredly, “to pull myself up, but I didn’t think I’d have to go throught he effort of *literally* pulling myself up!!” he shouted, giving up with the peak just out of arms’ reach, his body collapsing at the tip of the hill’s slope.

“Well,” a sultry voice cooed from the top. “It all depends on what’s got you down, dear.”

With a curvy silhouette outlined by the golden shine of the sinking skyline, Porrim Maryam looked down from the top of the hill, flashing him a small but sincere smile as her eyes looked over his exasperated form. Her hands came to rest on her wide hips as she finished studying him, painted lips spreading as the same sweet tone rolled through her teeth. “Perhaps it’s something you’d like to talk about?”

Karkat rolled on to his side, his forearm supporting him as he looked her over in bewilderment, hardly expecting company this far from the core of the meteor. Before he could answer Porrim shook her head, her words taking a more authoritative tone as her smile widened enough to flash her fangs. “Nevermind. If it’s important enough to have brought you out this far, it must be juicy.” She chuckled, a slender finger summoning Karkat toward her. “Come. You’re telling me everything.”

Porrim turned away, her hips swaying from side to side as she sauntered toward the tree, almost completely out of view of Karkat’s befuddled gaze, his body pulling itself back to its feet to keep her in his view. “What the fuck makes you think I want to talk about it?!” he called, unable to see her, save for the tip of her horns, positive she’d taken a seat against the tree trunk.

“You know you do!” She called back smugly, her own assuredness almost enough to set a raging fire in the pit of the boy’s stomach. “Come on, darling. I only want to help, I promise you’ll receive no judgment from me.”

Karkat mulled over his options, knowing full well that if Gamzee were still around he’d be making every attempt to try and bare his soul to the clown in hopes of receiving some shred of support in return. With an audible groan, Karkat completed his climb in a few lunging steps, offering an exasperated sigh as he reached the top of the hill.

Porrim sat in wait against the trunk of the tree, the knee of one leg hiked up to her chest as the other sat stiff in an attempt to keep her dress sorted. She was immaculate, the embodiment of sweeps worth of romantic ventures that Karkat could only dream of, all the time spent and expertise gained having done nothing to tarnish her perfect body.

A few seconds had passed and Porrim couldn’t help but notice Karkat’s fixated vision, the sun behind her illuminating his features to show the way his lean frame stiffened in front of her, the way his eyes focused on every curve. His lips parted, just a bit, but not a sound came through, a sight she’d never seen from a Vantas before; it was all very cute, so much so that Porrim let him stare for a few moments more before patting her lap, ushering him over like one would a dog.

“Do I…?” he began to ask nervously, a variety of options from condescending to intimate flashing through his mind, each bearing a far different connotation from the rest.

“Whatever you’re comfortable with, sweetie.” she flashed that smile again, the smaller one that seemed to communicate a general caring for whoever it was aimed at, almost disarming Karkat’s apprehensions as he offered a slow nod. 

“Then if it’s all the same to you, I think I’ll park in the fucking grass. No offense to you or your blatant advances…” 

“None taken.” her smile hardly faltered, waving off his potentially inflammatory comment, instead watching as he seated himself beside her, careful to keep a few inches between them as his back fell smoothly against the bark of the tree. “Now talk to me, dear. What has you so conflicted that it’s brought you this far out?”

Karkat let out a tired huff, crossing his arms tightly across his chest. “You first, tell me why the fuck you’re so interested? You don’t have enough drama going on between your own friends to sate your appetite for petty bullshit?”

He was a little ball of fire, something Porrim couldn’t help but find endearing. A small snicker tugged from her throat as she placed a palm on his head, playfully ruffling at his messy black hair. “I’m afraid there’s no such thing as enough. Besides, we’re both here, aren’t we? So we can talk about what’s got you upset, or you can leave and kill yourself trying to find a spot that’s not being co-inhabited by a caring ghost.” She raised an eyebrow as she eyed Karkat daringly. She’d had enough experience with her own Vantas to know how to handle their confrontational demeanor, and without eons of time to inflate his own ego and self-righteousness, Porrim was certain that Karkat would be disarmed much easier than Kankri, were it the same situation.

“...fuck. Fine!” Karkat groaned, indulging Porrim’s touch for a moment before gently slapping her wrist away. “But I’m only doing this because it might help to actually get this shit off my chest. I’m not doing you a favor and I’m DEFINITELY not throwing a treat to the queen of the fucking gossip hounds, got it?! In fact, if I’m doing this, you have to promise not to tell anyone!!” 

Porrim pinched her fingers, ghosting them over her lips to affirm her silence on the matter. With an understanding nod, Karkat sank against the trunk of the tree, shifting a bit against the soft grass as he contemplated where to begin. “I don’t know, I guess…” He chewed impatiently at his bottom lip, with Porrim shifting a bit to turn herself closer to him. “Have you ever felt like you’re everyone’s third wheel?”

Porrim tapped contemplatively at her lips, shaking her head. “I’ve been associated with a number of wheeled devices before, but I’ve managed to avoid that label thus far.”

“Well then let me try and give you a good idea of how it feels. It’s comprised of a mix of ‘Sorry, Karkat. We have a date tonight,’ ‘sorry, Karkat. I guess you had to be there,’ and my favorite, ‘sorry, Karkat, this is a ‘couples only’ venture, if you catch my drift.’” His voice raised with each word, an irritated growl rumbling beneath his words as he spoke.

“Couples?” Porrim’s smile faded, her features twisting in confusion. “I’m sorry, for some reason I had assumed that you were in a quadrant with the Pyrope girl.”

Karkat’s spirits visibly sank, his knees pressing in to his chest as his arms wrapped around them, his head sinking despondently in to the pit his position. “Fat fucking chance…” He grumbled. “I screwed the woofbeast so badly on that one that it’ll be limping for the next 10 sweeps.”

A frown spread across Porrim’s face as she scooted closer, draping an arm over Karkat’s shoulders, his own expression hidden by his knees. Flashes of her own failed relationships and damaged friendships flashed through her mind. She thought of Aranea and the lingering awkwardness between them even sweeps later. “I’m sorry…” she muttered, her fingers rubbing quietly against Karkat’s shoulder.

“And that’s not even the worst part!” he said, pulling his arms up to give his words a sense of life, his frantic waving doing little to disturb Porrim’s grip of him. “Not only did I catastrophically annihilate any chance I had of getting with her in ANY quadrant, but I practically drove her in to the arms of everyone that isn’t me!” 

He was shouting now, hands swiping at the air as his eyes started shimmering. Porrim knew the signs, there were tears coming. Her grip on his shoulder tightened, tugging him a small bit closer as he continued, his tone swelling with rage.

“That includes my fucking bastard of an ex-moirail, too! I mean, how much of a fuck up do you have to be to not only lose the only established relationship you’ve ever had, but also sit blissfully unaware while your murderous ex effortlessly swipes away the girl you spent SWEEPS trying to impress in no time flat?!” His rigorous movements came to a grinding halt, eyes visible watering as his arms dropped to his sides, quickly blurring gaze floating toward the ground. “I just… I keep fucking everything up.” 

Karkat drew in a jagged breath, the entirety of his frame shaking as the weight of his guilt flooded from his lips. Porrim moved without hesitation, and before the first tear had rolled from Karkat’s cheek, he found himself pressed tightly against her chest. His shoulders spiked up with each whimper he managed to choke back, a bevy of waterworks running down his cheeks as his arms slowly wrapped around her waist. “There, there…” she muttered, one hand pressed tightly to his back as the other combed through his hair. “It’s going to be alright.”

“How can you even say that with a straight face?” he sputtered, his words sliding out between choked sobs and deep breaths. “All I do is give them everything I can and they just recoil like my advances are a strain of fucking leprosy...”

One of Porrim’s hands slid to Karkat’s legs, pulling them one after the other in to her lap, so he was cradled softly against her. “Maybe that’s the problem, dear. Relationships aren’t supposed to be so one-sided. Being with someone else should enhance you, not consume you.” She looked Karkat over, his chest still pulsing with his uneven breaths. Porrim’s fingers glided smoothly through his thick black hair, trying her best to calm the frazzled boy. He seemed so vulnerable like this, a shivering mess huddled in to her body in hopes of finding the slightest shred of comfort. 

It was strange, Kankri had always spurned any affectionate advances on her part, every nursing gesture receiving a bitter hiss and an angry rejection. Karkat, on the other hand, seemed almost too willing to give himself away, despite his brash nature. It was adorable. He may not have been aware, but he was doing quite the job of indulging Porrim’s caring, almost maternal instincts, and she decided the least she could do was cater to his need for a bit of positive attention. “You deserve someone who’s willing to put as much effort in to a relationship as you do.”

Karkat was taking deep breaths now, trying to steady himself out. He was adjusting well to his new position on Porrim’s lap; arms still tangled around her waist as his head rested gently in the crook of her neck. “You say that like there’s just a line of people with a carnal urge to fight their way in to my quadrants.” Although he’d never say it out loud, her attentive touch and smooth tone offered an indescribable kind of help, the caring intimacy of her grazing fingertips slowly sewing a patch over the hole that had been forming in his chest for months on end.

A palm came to rest on Karkat’s cheek, gently tilting his head until his eyes met Porrim’s; their stark white showing a warped reflection of his tear-stained cheeks. The light of the setting sun caught the piercing at her lip, shimmering gold as her smile returned. “Who’s to say you need to form a line?” she cooed, her thumb stroking the skin of Karkat’s cheek, subtly working to wipe away the tears. “All it takes is one willing participant.”

She leaned in, the weight of inexhaustible expertise pushing her forward as she caught Karkat’s barely parted lips in a tight kiss. His thoughts scattered for a brief moment, but as soon as his head was clear Karkat wasted no time reciprocating; his hands sliding gently from her waist along the length of her arms, before finally draping over her shoulders to keep the two tightly pressed together.

The way Karkat clung to her, his desperation to make sure there was no distance between their bodies, it was easily one of the cutest things Porrim had ever experienced. His hands fumbled nervously along her back, fingertips gripping her shoulders, her dress, shifting timidly from place to place in a novice display that only drove her need to coddle the boy as much as possible. 

But it was this glaringly obvious indication of his own inexperience is what led her to stop things there, at least for the moment, pulling away from the kiss to see Karkat against her; trembling, panting excitedly, a bright red blush filling in his cheeks as he stared at her in disbelief. The silence swallowed them both as Karkat curled back against her; his dull teeth sinking in to his bottom lip as he tried to hold back the tsunami of emotions washing over him. He wanted to say so much, to let her know how much this meant to him. He could barely work to suppress the bevy of thoughts held just behind the gate of his lips, feeling like he might explode against the warmth of her embrace. Despite all this, he somehow managed to contain himself, arms holding tightly to her waist as he sank in to her chest, his first words coming out as a mumble muffled against her skin.

“How long are you gonna be here?”

She smiled, her fingers going back to his hair as she held him close, eyes never leaving him as they sat intertwined. “As long as I need to be.”

It wouldn’t be forever, it probably wouldn’t even be long, but she’d do what she could; offering him the affection he’d earned after after spending so much time alone in hopes that when her dream bubble departed, he’d at least be in better spirits than when she had arrived.

All he needed was a break.


End file.
